AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria has launched a 13-week radio programme called "Mentor Mothers" to combat pediatric HIV and improve maternal health outcomes. The initiative, which began in Benue State, airs weekly on ASO Radio and targets gaps in awareness and access to Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services. Steve Aborisade, Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager at AHF Nigeria, said the programme leverages radio to reach underserved communities with accurate information on HIV prevention, treatment, and maternal healthcare. He noted that mother-to-child transmission remains prevalent due to limited awareness and poor access to healthcare services among pregnant women. The programme features mentor mothers—women living with HIV who have delivered HIV-negative babies—to provide peer education and support. It follows a stakeholder discussion held Tuesday in Abuja with PMTCT coordinators, traditional birth attendants, and healthcare workers. Aborisade said the radio initiative complements existing community interventions and has already seen strong listener engagement in Benue. Omoseke Bamijoko, Nurse and PMTCT Focal Person for AHF Nigeria in the FCT, emphasized that HIV testing is routine in antenatal care and that timely enrollment in PMTCT services prevents transmission. She cited low awareness and poor antenatal attendance as key barriers despite the availability of services in primary healthcare centres. Malam Nuhu Aliyu, PMTCT Focal Person at FCT AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Programme (FASCP), said the campaign will help expand testing awareness and support elimination goals for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis.
Steve Aborisade highlights low awareness as a barrier to stopping pediatric HIV, yet the solution is a 13-week radio programme with no mention of how it will reach women without access to radios or electricity. If mentor mothers in Benue are already fielding calls, the real gap may not be information but whether healthcare systems can handle the surge in demand for PMTCT services. Women in remote areas may hear the message but still face closed clinics, stockouts, or long distances to care. A short-term broadcast cannot substitute for functional health infrastructure.
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